The Public Transport Users Association New Zealand (PTUA) completely agrees with Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown that it is time to change Auckland Transport into a fully publicly accountable organisation and stripped of policymaking and strategy functions.
From experience the PTUA believes Auckland Transport is a self-serving, arrogant organisation and has no interest in delivering what the communities of Auckland want.
“Our Trains to Huapai campaign is a classic example of AT digging in with no interest to expand the commuter services” said Jon Reeves, PTUA National Coordinator. AT pretended to listen to the West Auckland community, engaged consultants but refused requests from the PTUA to talk with the consultants, then produced extremely over inflated project costings and ignored our advice on practical industry standard solutions to reduce those costs. AT gold plated everything to ensure the costs would appear far to high to run commuter trains to the growing Nor West Auckland area. “AT continues with these absolutely over-the-top costings to stop Trains To Huapai to this day” Reeves said.
AT’s own Trust and Confidence Reputation Update shows in March 2024 just 28% of Aucklanders trust AT to make the right decisions. “That speaks for itself – Aucklanders simply do not trust the faceless bureaucrats who are not answerable to the community it supposedly serves” Reeves said.
The PTUA has publicly argued for years that AT, as created by ACT’s Rodney Hyde in the late 2000’s, was never fit for purpose. Every other region in New Zealand has a Regional Transport Committee which is fully accountable to local ratepayers and voters. Not in the case of Auckland where “the untouchables” manage and mismanage Auckland’s transport needs.
“We want the coalition government to rectify the mess created by Rodney Hyde, give Auckland Council, Councillors and ultimately ratepayers the power to decide what and how transport is delivered in the region. AT’s time is up. AT is a dead duck that never served the people and ratepayers with the respect they are owed and forgets they pay their bills!” Jon Reeves said.